Anders
Information Pre-Game History Anders is a mage. Which means he was born with the ability to throw magic around, and play in the crazy demon-infested dream-world known as the Fade. Because of that, and the potential for his brain to get infested by demons from said Fade, he was taken to the Circle of Mages when he was a teen. It was, in his eyes, basically a prison for mages, in which they were constantly watched by their church-appointed (or Chantry-appointed) guardians, the templars, and vials of blood kept on hand in case they ever escaped the Circle Tower. Anders escaped seven times. He was hauled back every time, however, and nearly branded as possessed (the Chantry had their own word for it, but the basics are the same). He never was though. Nor was he delving into blood magic, as they also feared. He just really hated the Circle and its restrictions. On his last escape attempt, he actually managed to get away for good, it seemed. He joined up with the Grey Wardens, which gave him immunity, more or less, to the Circle restrictions, so long as he stayed with the Wardens. It seemed like a pretty good setup. He didn't have to follow the strict rules of the Circle, he had a cat, no one was going to execute him for being an apostate, he could travel the world and help people with his magic... And run into a spirit from the Fade, a spirit called Justice. Spirits were the opposite of Fade demons, embodying virtues, rather than sins. Justice was trapped outside of the Fade, and, in his journeys with the Wardens, Anders and Justice started getting along, until Justice ran into the problem of fading out of existence, thanks to being stuck in the mortal realm, rather than the Fade. The mage decided to help the spirit out. He thought that, maybe, just maybe, if he gave the spirit a willing body to hang out in, Justice would be all right, and be able to continue existing. In addition, he thought that by using the spirit, they could both bring real justice to all mages -- whom Anders still felt were nothing more than prisoners and slaves. That... didn't work out so well. Because of Anders' understandable, but rather unchecked, anger towards the Circle, and the Templars, Justice became altered once the two linked up. Instead of a calm, rational spirit, Justice became Vengeance -- popping in ot say hello whenever Anders got sufficiently worked up. And, considering he was now backed by a powerful spirit from the Fade, it made his anger all the more devastating, magically speaking. It became apparent when the mage lashed out and killed a Templar-turned-Grey Warden, along with several others, for commenting on Anders' new status as an abomination. Anders ditched the Wardens after that, and ended up in Kirkwall, a city in the Free Marches of Thedas. He built up a clinic in the city's slums, known as Darktown, healing the poor, the sick, the tired masses free of charge -- while trying to maintain control of himself. In addition, he began working to do all he could in order to help the mages of Kirkwall, as the conditions there were growing more oppressive than they had been elsewhere. Which was how he found Hawke. He needed help freeing a friend who was in danger of being made tranquil by the Chantry -- a condition that cut mages off from the Fade, the source of their magic, and, it seemed personality. Hawke needed maps of the Deep Roads, which, being an ex-Grey Warden, Anders had in his possession. In the end, they were too late to save his friend -- and, apparently, his ex -- and Hawke gained the services of a healer, out of gratitude for the attempt to help. Anders hung around with Hawke for six years. Many adventures were had, from stopping an invasion of Qunari, to more mundane things like picking up books for elves, and gathering more companions. Through it all, Anders constantly sought Hawke's assistance on behalf of the oppressed mages, until he eventually took matters directly into his own hands. Telling Hawke that he'd found a way to separate himself and Justice, Anders used his friend's assistance to build Thedas' largest magical bomb. Once again using Hawke, he snuck it into Kirkwall's giant Chantry, and, as tensions between mages and Templars began to boil over in the city, Anders blew the bomb. It took out the entire Chantry, including everyone inside. People were understandably upset. Most of them, if not all, were calling for his head. And... that's when he woke up somewhere else entirely. That dick. Game History Has gone Crazy for Justice a couple times in response to the various punishments going on. Occasionally heals people and derps around. Had a frog literally in his throat for a while. Oh and he got laid in the barn on the night of the festival. Now things are awkward as hell with him and the other guy. Then said sort-of-boyfriend got sick during the zombie event -- Anders went to heal him, got sick, and went hard for Justice to avenge this wrong. Then he died too. Got all huffy at Alistair. And is losing control of his RAGE and therefore of Justice. Started a veritable shitstorm by threatening Kloe after the Zombie Event. Made a lot of enemies. Personality Where he was once witty and sarcastic, lighthearted and easy-going, Anders is a good deal more serious, straightforward, and melancholy. At times, his previous nature pokes through, and he'll crack a joke, or a humorous remark. But, for the most part, his involvement with Justice/Vengeance, and the deaths of the other Wardens have changed him. One thing that never changed, however, was his feelings toward cats. Anders loves cats. Not even Justice can beat that out of him. Aside from that, he is a devoted, passionate man with a lot of anger issues. He isn't violent by himself, preferring to use his magic to heal and help rather than destroy, but following his joining with Justice, when he gets angry, he tends to lose all control of both himself, and Justice. He'll become much more likely to lash out, to cause both death and injury, until he calms himself down. Whether this is due to the spirit shacked up in his skull, or due to his own emotions, he can't tell. He claims to be bound up with Justice so tightly that he's no longer able to tell where one stops and the other starts. And this, understandably, concerns him. He is generally overcome with feelings of self-loathing and existential angst following his episodes with Justice. He has devoted the last few years of his life to freeing his fellow mages, and refuses to stray from his path. And... he can rant about it for hours. What he feels, he feels strongly, and without reservation. If he loves someone, he loves them completely. If he hates someone, there's no room for argument. He refuses to be swayed in his beliefs, especially where the mages and templars are concerned. Even when presented with evidence contrary to what he believes, Anders is much more likely to make an exception on a case-by-case basis, rather than accept that his ideas may not be true. For instance, when confronted by a templar who was genuinely concerned for his mage charges, Anders would only grudgingly admit the man was "good ... for a templar", leaving his overall view of the warriors unchanged. However, his devotion borders on obsession. He either sees nothing wrong with this, or doesn't fully realize the depth of his obsession. The cause is all-important to him, driving him to forsake even friendship in prusuit of his ultimate goal for his fellow mages. It's a noble sort of selfishness, but is selfish nonetheless. Again, whether or not he would be this way without Justice's interference, he can't tell. Which... just takes him back to the existential angst all over again. Appearance He's not particularly tall or short, around average, really. And he's pale. Probably from hanging around in a part of the city called Darktown, but still. He's blonde, and wears his hair pulled away from his face, even though it's not terribly long, with brown eyes and stubble. He works the haggard revolutionary look. Also the "feathers" look -- as his clothing always includes some kind of ridiculous feathered mantle. We like to pretend that, sans shirt, he manages to look something like this, but that is neither here nor there. Aside from that, there's nothing terribly remarkable about the guy... At least until Justice comes out to play. Then, his skin, and occasionally even his entire body including clothing, gets covered in tiny, bright blue lines, like glowing veins, and his eyes glow the same color. He starts to look like a blue sun. Abilities, Skills and Talents *Healing *Bosting defensive capabilities *Whacking things with his staff *Minor elemental magic *Turning blue and crushing faces with spirit power *Causing riots *Taking care of cats *Swinging his staff around *Writing elaborate manifestos Limitations and Weaknesses *Staying calm *Fireballs *Not being a jerk *Justice *Use of magic severely fatigues him. He needs a couple minutes to recover before casting spells again. *Taking care of himself. Relationships Castmates *Hawke: Hawke is his BFF. One of the few people Anders trusts without a doubt. Even if the guy drags him into the Deep Roads. *Varric Tethras: His other BFF. One of the few party members Anders ever gets along with. He'd pretty much do anything for Varric. *Alistair: TEMPLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR also a Grey Warden and the King of Fereldan. This is awkward. Other Characters *Alex Marsters: Kind of sort of boyfriend. Relationship status: Complicated. *Bryn: They talk sometimes. Met at a punishment, then things got awkward and Anders retreated. *Kloe: HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE *Aara: A naive girl who thinks forgiveness solves everything. Friend of Kloe. HAAAAaate. *Chloe: ... Maybe a mage? Either way she needs some serious instruction. Category:Active Category:Characters Category:Fandom Category:Dragon Age